The whole video game streaming thing is funny, when you think about it. The idea of showing off what you’re playing for people to view online began with PCs. People playing various games on their computer found ways to record, stream, and share footage. The idea caught on, people developed similar technologies to make it possible to do so on consoles, and current gen systems now have streaming built right in. Which is why it’s so ironic that it’s taken until December 2014 for Steam to board the bandwagon.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Better late than never, I always say. Hey, Steam Broadcast! Great to see you! Looking forward to all of the fun we’ll hopefully have together. Especially once Valve works out the kinks. But, there’s one thing that Stream Broadcast needs, and that’s Twitch and Ustream integration.
I can understand why Valve would want to lock out Twitch and Ustream. It took a while, but the company is finally getting into livestreaming. Why would they suddenly want to promote competitors? The thing is, people already have followings built on both websites. Especially since consoles already allow people to log into those same accounts. They may already even be using clients to stream Steam games through them. Steam Broadcasting isn’t a viable competitor for either service.
Instead, it should try to succeed by cooperating with them. After all, the Steam Streaming beta is pretty rough at the moment. I wanted to watch some footage of someone playing I Am Bread , because it’s I Am Bread . I found a livestream and clicked the link. Instead of being able to immediately start watching, Steam told me I needed to log in. I wasn’t on my home computer. Plus, I’m old. My Steam password is needlessly complicated in the name of account protection, so I don’t always remember it. So, no watching I Am Bread on Steam for me. I went to Twitch, searched for the game, and immediately was able to start watching.
Valve needs to understand that people are going to be like that. They aren’t going to always want or be able to log into Steam to watch broadcasts. They won’t want to have to search for their favorite player on Steam. They’ll want livestreaming their games to be easy. The best way to do that is to tweak Steam Broadcasting so it will work for them and cooperate with the existing, successful, popular services out there.
Sure, it means that Valve won’t be able to try and market Steam Broadcasting as a competitor. But, it doesn’t have to. Steam stands strong on its own and has a loyal fanbase. A fanbase which will only love and support Valve more if it does the right thing and allows Twitch and Ustream integration. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the company makes the smart decision.